Drawdown and recovery calculator

Calculate drawdown and the gain needed to regain a peak. Model a hypothetical series of percentage losses.

Start with an example

10,000 → 8,000 USD is a 20% drawdown that requires a 25% gain to recover. Ten further hypothetical losses of 1% of each remaining amount leave approximately 7,235.06 USD.

Calculation inputs

Changing inputs recalculates the result. Use account currency for amounts unless a field names another unit.

Previous capital peakHighest account value used for this comparison. Use the same balance or equity definition for both amounts. Where do I find this input?

Current capitalZero or greater, and no higher than the peak. Separate deposits and withdrawals from trading performance first. At zero, the recovery percentage is undefined. Where do I find this input?

Account currencyLabels the amounts. Changing this currency does not fetch an exchange rate or automatically convert the numbers you entered. Where do I find this input?

Practise a losing streak

Capital lost on each further loss (%)Hypothetical percentage of the capital remaining before each loss. A constant 1% gives different cash losses. At 0% capital stays unchanged; at 100% one loss reduces it to zero. This is a mathematical scenario. Where do I find this input?

Number of consecutive lossesCount in the hypothetical series starting from current capital. Enter 0 to model no further decline. Where do I find this input?

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Result for your inputs

Drawdown from the entered peak—

Gain needed to regain the peak—

Cash shortfall to the peak—

Capital after the hypothetical series—

Capital lost during the hypothetical series—

How to interpret the result

Results appear when the calculator starts.

The historical comparison and the hypothetical series starting from current capital are separate calculations. The series does not predict future losses or their probability. It excludes deposits, withdrawals and fees outside the entered percentage loss. Peak and current capital must use the same definition.

Calculations run in your browser. A downloaded CSV contains your inputs and results.

Work through the calculations

Pip value → position size → margin → portfolio risk. Transfer with a button and confirm before applying on the next page.

A draft remains usable for 30 minutes and is stored in this browser session on this domain. We do not send it to the server or put amounts in the URL. A browser may retain a restored tab session; use “Clear calculation draft” to remove the data.

How the result is calculated

Drawdown = (peak − current capital) / peak × 100%. Recovery gain = (peak − current capital) / current capital × 100%. Series ending capital = current capital × (1 − loss % / 100)^number of losses. At zero current capital, the recovery percentage is undefined.

Worked example

Example: peak 10,000 USD and current capital 8,000 USD. Drawdown is 2,000 / 10,000 = 20%, but recovery requires a 2,000 / 8,000 = 25% gain. Ten further hypothetical losses, each 1% of the remaining capital, leave 8,000 × 0.99^10 ≈ 7,235.06 USD, an additional decline of approximately 9.56%.

Specifications and conventions: MetaQuotes: trading-statistic definitions

Inputs before results

Where do I find this calculator’s inputs?

You need two comparable amounts from account history and your assumptions for a further series.

Two different denominators. Original diagram with fictional learning inputs; not a platform screenshot or broker offer.

Conclusion: a 20% decline needs a 25% gain from the reduced amount. This comparison assumes no deposits or withdrawals.

Comparable peak and current capital

Use account history and one definition for both amounts: balance or equity. Peak equity and today’s balance do not form a consistent comparison.

Separate deposits and withdrawals from trading performance. A decline after withdrawing money is not itself a trading loss. If current capital is zero, the percentage gain needed to recover the peak is undefined.

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A hypothetical further losing streak

The loss count and percentage decline are scenario assumptions starting from the entered current capital. They are not forecasts retrieved from the platform.

The percentage applies to capital remaining before each loss, so cash losses shrink. Fixed cash losses need a different model. The series does not establish the probability of those events.